Look inside the new and improved Wellbridge Athletic Club

The center of the mind-body floor will look much like this; upstairs, the high-energy spinning and pumping...

You’re signed up at your cycling place, but Pilates would really be good for your core…and what about that dance studio? All these memberships are expensive, though, and you’re driving all over town…

Centene just simplified your life.

As the corporation began planning its expansion, architects realized they needed the Clayton building that Wellbridge Athletic Club occupied. So Wellbridge moved next door—and has expanded dramatically. The new Wellbridge, which opens at 5 a.m. on Monday, August 27, has six studios and a lot more options, equipment, and classes—all under a single membership.

In the old space, only one-third of the square footage was for fitness; a lot more was trapped in stairwells, wasted in the lobby, underutilized as offices. The new location devotes a full two-thirds to fitness, an extra 17,000 square feet.

That means a Zen Room where you can relax. A Recovery Room with NormaTec compression boots, a zero-gravity chair, and Hyperice to soothe your muscles. A full spa that’s open to the public—and gives you access to the rest of the club on the day of your massage, manicure, or lash tinting. Show up at 5 a.m., swim, grab breakfast, relax, work out, shower, get your massage, do some yoga…

You might even try aerial yoga, done in a room with colored lights that can change like a nightclub’s. “In the old studios, you had a mirror and your floor,” says general manager Azeza Tessereau. “Now, we want to create an experience.” On the perimeter, a yoga wall defies gravity, letting you hang upside down like a chrysalis. There’s also a heated yoga room that can rise all the way from cozy to 104F, letting you either sweat out toxins or just warm up your muscles on a winter day.

A concept studio that will rotate state-of-the-art equipment every six months. Currently, this Atlas Room has three BoxMasters (there will be a kickboxing class) and three Assault AirRunners, rounded and self-propelled with so much shock absorption, users say they feel like they’re running on a cloud—and don’t even notice that they’re burning up to 30 percent more calories than they would on the average treadmill.

A buoyant saltwater pool, 25 meters, with five lap lanes. No chlorine to sear your sinuses, burn your eyes, dry out your hair and skin. No more coed hot tubs; instead, there are whirlpools and steam saunas in each locker room, and the conversations should be a little more relaxed.

Wellbridge is adding virtual programming on a giant screen, so if you come in at an off time, you can watch a class taught by one of the top instructors in the country. There will be an energy bar with smoothies and grab-and-go snacks. If you’re training for a particular sport, there’s a strip of turf that combines cushion with traction.

The Pilates studio will have customized Balanced Body Reformers, stability chairs, Barrels and Arcs. The spinning bikes are brand new, with individual consoles to track your workout. Throughout the club, MyZone stations will let you track your heart rate and connect with other members, comment on workouts, arrange to meet afterward or try Mommy and Me Yoga together. Child care is available for kids up to 12 years old.